TRINITY COLLEGE BULLETIN MAGAZINE ISSUE
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MARCH, 1954
IN THIS ISSUE Liberal Education Talks Back "MR. GEOLOGY" to Retire Phantasy of a Junior Advisor Studying Human Behavior Campus News-Features-Pictures
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HART
RD, CONNECTICUT
TRINITY COLLEGE BULLETIN
Prestdent' s M essage
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This month, our admissions officers and committee undertake final selection of the young men who will compose next fall's freshman class. Thanks to the help of Trinity's many undergraduates, alumni and friends, some 900 of America's finest secondary school seniors are applying for the 240 places in the new class.
Edited by Robert M. Bishop Staff-Charles B. Saunders, Jr., Robert L. Sind, '55 Commitee-Albert E. Holland, '34, William R. Peelle, '44, John F. Butler, '33, John A. 1ason, '34
Admission to Trinity is highly competitive as it should be. The College has been endowed as an institution dedicated to developing our finest young men to intellectual maturity and responsible citizenship for leadership in the future. It is the trust of the College to expend this resource of higher education in ways that will pay our American society and the world the highest possible dividends. Competitive selection is part of the process of leadership in a democracy, is vital to freedom of opportunity.
Vol. LI (New Series) March 1954
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Published ten times a year by Trin'lty College. Entered January 1 2, 1904, at H a rtford, Connecticut as second class matter, und er the Act of Congr ess of July 16, 1894. Accepted for mailing at spec ia l r ate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3 , 1917, authorized March 3, 1919. Th e issues a re as follows: President's Annual Report, September; Coll ege Magazine, March , July, December; Alumni
Newspaper, February , ~{ay , November; Cata logu es. April (Summer), August (Evening ) , October (General) .
EDITOR'S CORNER This year is a minor anniversary in Trinity history-the sesquicentennial of the graduation from Union College in 1804 of Trinity's founder, Bishop Thomas Church Brownell. Twenty years after his graduation, Brownell appointed another Union graduate, George Washington Doane, as Trinity's first professor, beginning a long tradition of interrelationship between the two colleges. This historic friendship of Union and Trinity has been blemished during the past 15 years by deteriorating relationships in sports with the result that this year no Trinity and Union teams are meeting. In size of student bodies and academic tradition, Trinity and Union are natural rivals. The 123 miles separating Hartford and Schenectady are distant enough for interest and short enough for traveling economy. Would it not be appropriate that the 150th atmi.versary year of the graduation from Union of Trinity's founder also be for these Colleges a year of renewal of friendly rivalry in sports?
Is it not, then, our whole purpose to lead young men in developing the characteristics of responsibility, sound judgement, and initiative? And is there any more important part of our task than making sure that this opportunity is offered to those outstanding young men who can make the most use of it? It takes both a Faculty and a student body of high calibre to make a first-rate liberal arts college. Our alumni and friends therefore have a very real part in supporting the high standards of our College by interesting outstanding youths in becoming Trinity men. As chairman of the committee on admissions of the Columbia University School of Law for nearly two decades, I well know at first hand how important is the recommendation of alumni and friends in influencing the choice of a college by young people. Although Trinity's application rate is almost four times as great as the size of the class we can admit, we believe that there is still considerable room for improving the quality of new classes. Does any college have such good selection that it cannot do better? To further the cooperation of more than 12,000 close friends and alumni of Trinity, we will soon inaugurate a formal program of alumni. interviewing of prospective students in key areas throughout the country. Since many applications cannot be accepted, Trinity's procedure to make selection fair and effective is thorough and painstaking. Since last September, four people in the admissions office have been working full time gathering detailed information on each applicant, and they are now getting the advice of experienced members of the Faculty in making final decisions. The file on each applicant includes his scholastic record, evaluated in respect to the known standing of his school. Searching questions about character, ambition, and application have been asked of his principal or headmaster, of teachers, and of acquaintances. All applicants have been required to take the college board aptitude examinations to evaluate their intellectual capacity and scholastic accomplishment. Many of the applicants have been interviewed at Trinity. The majority have been interviewed in their home cities or schools by the admissions officers or key alumni.. Our admisSions officers have traveled much, visiting about 200 schools as far South as Virginia and as far West as Minnesota. This effort is creating in the college file a substantial body of material about the academic record, personality, character and potential for leadership of each applicant as shown in his classroom record, extra-curricular interests, church, community, and home life. These records will place some men clearly at the top of the list of youths who can best profit by a Trinity education. Others will as obviously be at the bottom. The difficult decisions are in the middle. Mistakes will inevitably be made; but our alumni and friends may be assured that the College is doing its sincere best to make as few errors as possible. The steadily declining rate of academic failure and the growing honors list indicates that our admissions office is on the right track. With a word of caution to our friends against pre-judging the likelihood of Trinity's acceptance of any candidate, may I bespeak the continued support of the Trinity family in this vital work. ALBERT
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, two final years of specialization. A similar program has been in effect for several years between Trinity and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 0
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I CAMPUS LITERARY CIRCLES, a good deal of curiosity has ah路eady been stirred by reports that the Review is planning what sounds like the biggest coup in the history of its publication. The journal's spring issue is scheduled to include contributions hom a number of noted poets and critics of contemporary literature. Editors will divulge nothing more specific at this time. However , interest in the special issue is heightened by the success this year's editorial board has ah-eady had with its new policy of guest artists: the fall number of the Review, which announced the policy, included a previously unpublished poem by famed poet William Carlos Williams in addition to regular student contributions. The winter issue, due out this week, contains two pieces by another distinguished American poet, Richard Eberhart. 0
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for 20 years has named Dr. Jacobs regional chairman of a committee for observance of its 200th birthday . As part of the celebration, which has the theme of "Man's Right to Knowledge and the Free Use Thereof," Irwin Edman , Professor of Philosophy at Columbia, will lectme here on May 11. 0
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BY PURE COINCIDENCE, the Hilltop and Morningside H eights joined in another recent news item: with 36 other liberal arts colleges, Trinity has entered a cooperative program with Columbia's School of Engineering. Under the program, qualified students will take their first three years at Trinity for a broad general education, then go to Columbia for
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LIBRARY ASSOCIATES this month are publishing the first issue of the "Trinity Library Gazette," a jomnal of bibliographical and historical information about the college libraries and their collections. Major articles are on Civil War Material in the Watkinson Library by Professor Robert C. Black, on Book Collector George Brinley by Librarian Donald B. Engley, and on the 16th centw:y Italian novelist Giraldi by Michael R. Campo of the modern languages faculty. Circulation is limited to Library Associates. Alumni and friends may apply for membership in the group, by writing Mr. En gley. Annual membership is five dollars. 0
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One of the highlights of the annual exhibition of the Connecticut Watercolor Society, held in December at Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum, was a Sunday afternoon demonstration of watercolor technique by Mitchel . Pappas, assistant professor of fine arts. A member of the Society's executi ve council as well as that of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Professor Pappas' works have been exhibited in galleries throughout the East.
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STUDE T CARS were the subject of a recent Tripod "expose," but all it proved was the long-acknowledged fact that Trinity's student body is highly mobile. It now appears that over 60 percent of the students operate cars, legally or otherwise, around the campus. To begin with, the Tripod found that 475 student cars are registered at the Property Manager's Office. These vehicles are all identified with a special College license tag. Making their own survey, however, Tripod reporters found "at least 75 and possibly more" umegistered student cars, and quoted an unidentified operator as explaining that it was just too much trouble to bother registering. Trouble or not, Property Manager lorman Walker reminded, the fine for umegistered campus parking is $5. The story resulted in "an increase in registrations," his o$~e reported. 0
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A SUDDE I TEREST in philately by President Jacobs was news for local papers in January. Though it was all in the cause of higher education, it had nothing to do with Trinity. It concerned a b路ip to the Hartford Post Office, where he purchased from the Posbnaster the first block of Columbia Bicentennial stamps to be issued in this area . All of which is by way of saying that the University which he served
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FOUR TRI ITY SCHOLAHS formed the best opposing team on the NBC network radio show, "The College Quiz Bowl"-but lost! Midst bells and buzzers, seniors Bill Dobrovir, Bob Gillooly, Jim Sauvage, and Art Wilson led the Brown-Pembroke team until the final two questions when the Providence team crept ahead to win. The Trinity men stood up so well against the experienced Brown-Pembroke team, winners of five sb路aight previous contests, that they have been asked to appear again in a Spring round-up of outstanding liberal arts teams.
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FROM WESLEYAN'S PH director John Paton to your editor in January came a gift book picked up at a duplicate copy sale in the Cardinal Library. "My College Days" by Hobert Tomes of Trinity's Class of 1835 provided an illuminating account of the College at the end of its first decade. According to Tomes, the catalogue of that day oversold the College and educational standards were far different than they became in later years. Despite the teaching standard of those days, however, Tomes pointed out that Trinity tmned out some great men. In his own class of 17 men, 10 of whom were graduated, were men who were to become a key
diplomat as envoy to France during the Civil War, the first American Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, the owner of the New York Post, and Trinity's famed fourth President, John Williams, Bishop of Connecticut. Tomes himself belongs on this list of distinguished graduates. He became a noted New York physician, world traveler, and author of nine books on American history, health, conduct, and travel. His books missing from the Collegt> Library and being sought are: "Battles of America by Land and Sea" ( 1861 and 1878), "The Bazar Books of Decorum, and the Household" ( 1870, 1875) and "The Youth's Health Book" ( 1878, 1882) . 0
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AMONG RARE BOOKS in the Watkinson collection is one small volume which sets two "firsts" in publishing history. It is the first printing ever done west of the Rockies, and it is the first book printed in the language of the Nez-Perces Indians . Its lengthy title is " ez-Perces First Book: Designed for Children and New Beginners." It bears the publishers' imprint of the Mission Press of Clearwater, Idaho, and the date, 1839. Only other known copies of the book (it is a second edition printing, and no complete first editions are in existence) are in possession of the Yale and Oberlin libraries. The Trinity copy was obtained from the estate of James Hammond Trumbull, first librarian of the Watkinson. 0
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TRINITY'S LOCATION on top of the Hartford job market continues to produce full employment for all undergraduates needing it. Last term, according to Placement Director John Butler, more than 300 students held steady jobs in downtown business and industry, while business piecework, household chores, and
baby-sitting stints supplied work for another 100 on call. 0
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CO NECTICUT CLERGY tithed as fund raisers to help the College in its early days, it has been discovered by the Rev. Professor Kenneth W. Cameron of the English Department, doubling as archivist of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. According to the "Christian Register" of 1832, "at a meeting of the Episcopal Clergy of Fairfield County, Conn., it was resolved that each Clergyman should endeavor to raise an annual sum, equal to one tenth of his salary, to be appropriated to the support of indigent young men at Hartford (Trinity) College." 0
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PHOFESSOR CAMEHON is the editor of an early Emerson poem, longlost and forgotten and published for the first time last month. The poem, "Indian Superstition," opens up a significant chapter in development of the famed transcendentalist poet and philosopher, Professor Cameron points out in his accompanying dissertation. Author of three previous books on Emerson, he is presently completing his latest work, a twovolume study of the poet to be published early next year. 0
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HOW LIBERAL AH.TS GHADUATES become "order makers" rather than just "order takers" as salesmen for Connecticut Printers, Inc. was explained in a full page ad by the company recently. Printers to Trinity College since 1838, the firm picked two Trinity graduates, Hay Thomsen, '41, and Bill Welling, '47, to illustrate their training program for men who came to the firm with "all liberal arts and no graphic arts." Hay and Bill, they said, "learned about print-
ing the hard way ... learned to set type, made up jobs, ran presses, worked in the bindery. And they were sent off to paper mills in Massachusetts and in Maine. They spent hours in engraving plants and in electrotype foundries. They read books from an extensive technical library. Then they spent a couple of years working with one of the older salesmen, learned how to organize jobs, how to follow them, how to take care of the many details that in printing mean customer satisfaction. "And now," the ad continues, "when they edge their foot into your door, they know whereof they speak. Their briefcases are full of quality printing samples, but more important, their heads are full of practical . ideas on how to produce printing better and more efficiently." Proof of the effectiveness of a liberal arts background and on the job technical training has been demonsb路ated again and again at Connecticut Printers where Bert C. Gable, Jr. '22, is now vice president for sales, J. H. Kelso Davis, '99 is retired general manager and treasurer, and G. B. Heynolds Meade, '27, is a senior salesman. 0
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BY HIS SCHEDULED HETUR this week from Europe, Dan Jessee will have logged some 65,000 air miles in four separate b路ips to conduct coaching clinics for the armed forces. For the past three weeks, Coach Jessee has been in Nurenburg. Vienna and Paris holding baseball clinics for the Gl's in the European Theater. Last summer he flew to ewfoundland, Labrador and Greenland on a similar mission, and in 1945 he made separate flights to tl1e Pacific and to Central and South America for the Army. Continued on page 16
Freshman lounge in new dormitory provides recreational space for yearlings, needed since the one year delayed fraternity rushing rule was adopted. Room features built-in TV-radio-phonograph, left, handsome pine paneled walls, comfortable but rugged furnishings. A game room adjoining has ping pong and card tables.
Jun ior Advisor
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By Donald F. Mountford, '55 GREDIENTS-First, take one mother's knee, add a cup of patience, a strong shoulder, a pinch of Dorothy Dix, one hundred yards of Scotch Tape, two pounds of Band-Aids, place in one
ew Dorm and mix with
some two hundred freshmen. Your result will be one Junior Advisor. The recipe above might describe those select Trinity students who have been ostracized from their own junior class and are being subjected to the whims and fancies of our lOl'ers as upperclass advisors in the freshman dorms. While seated in the spacious cubicle of one Junior Advisor, whose name I shall omit to save him from his mutinous advisees, I asked him, "Just what is expected of you?" Turning his fatigue-ringed eyes, he replied in a voice weak from breaking up crap games, fist fights, and chaos in general, "Everything. We are expected to be a traveling encyclopedia, a supply center, and a guidi;,Jg light with unquestionable morals. His sentence was cut short by a rap on the door. After a snappy, "Come in," the door opened to reveal a round face bursting with pimples. "Hey, J.A. , got any Scotch Tape? I ripped my map for the R.O.T.C.," the still changing voice inquired. "Yes, Freddy," my companion replied, reaching into his desk cluttered with the necessities of a successful Junior Advisor. "Here you are. Is there anything else?" he smiled. "Naw." Then he paused, raising a pensive eyebrow. "Nothing else, except a . . . maybe you can tell me the secret of success in history. That Downs has me completely faked out and you being a history major and all." The J.A. went on to explain that history is something you must acquire a taste for. After a moment, the youth agreed. As the freshman closed the door, the J.A. turned and asked where we were. I refreshed his memory. He told me that that was a typical example of his duties. Freshmen bring all types of questions running from "What do I do, I flunked my first hour test in math?" "What does my girl mean by, 'this is the hardest letter I've had to write'?"
to "Can you fix me up at Smith this weekend?" He told me that there is a certain amount of importance to his work. He said that the whole system is working out well . "This class," he continued, "along with the class of '56, is better adapted to college life." He feels that with the Junior Advisor system, the freshmen are drawn closer to campus life. They have a better understanding of fraternity life and when it will affect them, along with other campus activities. Then he thought a minute and went on to say that it has its flaws. He mentioned the non-mingling of floors. Putting the freshmen into one dorm has brought them closer together, but they seem to divide themselves into sections. They have class spirit, but they claim that it is hampered by the poor program the sophomores have set up. "The part I like best is the amount of respect the Junior Advisors command," he continued. He said that there were some wise guys who thought that the J.A.'s had some sort of racket, or that they were the Dean's right hand men. But freshmen accept the Junior Advisor plan in the spirit which prompted it. He paused to lean out the door to quiet a blaring radio, then continued, "That's the way it goes, a few words and they knock it off." I said that the Junior Advisors must have a pretty easy job. He corrected me by saying that some freshmen have what they consider big problems. He cited the day the first math hour test came back. Mass hysteria hit the dorm. His room was
This article was written by Mr. Mountford in fulfilling an assignment in Professor Bard McNulty's course on Expository Writing for Publication.
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filled with dazed and bewildered men. "Seemed I'd never be able to explain the Math Department to them. Then there are always the 'Dear John' letters or 'My Dad has just cut off my allowance, what will I do?'" I asked if the Junior Advisor is able to answer all these questions. He said, in effect, that there is a certain time element connected with adapting yourself to college life. Most freshmen find it hard to cope with everyday problems of campus life. Although the Junior Advisors are not experts at answering all questions, they are seasoned or qualified to help with the majority. He told me about the kid down the hall, who was homesick, but afraid to admit it. He looked down modestly. He guessed the admission of an upperclassman having the same weakness as a freshman , gave the freshman a sense of belonging. "Tell me," I interrupted, "how has living in a freshmen dorm affected your life? Do you get a chance to study with all these people running in and out all day?" He smiled and said they did keep him from his work, but not as much as you might think. "We older men should be used to the noise of a dorm, and after my freshman year amidst the Northam water fights, this is as quiet as a tomb. This new dorm seems to force you to work, and after the T.V. and game rooms are finished, I suspect the noise will be limited to the basement." I thought back to the blaring radio and wondered. "You mentioned parents-do they ever give you any trouble?" I quizzed. "Parents!" he exclaimed. " ever. They treat us like royalty." They ask him questions about the R.O.T.C. , the campus, or how their son is getting along. ~. "We become central intelligence for them," he said. I thought this was a good idea. The Advisor lives with the freshmen and in doing so becomes best qualified to speak about their study habits, ability to socialize, or their marks. I thought back to the first math test and who was first to hear about how they did. As I started to leave, I was brushed aside by one frantic freshman, who obviously had a problem. I thanked the J.A. for a complete report on Trinity's new venture, and closing the door, I could hear the freshman pleading with his Advisor: "It's those Chapel credits. Here it is the first of December and I only have twelve. There's got to be a way out J.A. What will I do?"
Liberal Education Talks Back "Educational dust bowl" ahead, economist warns, as studen ts take and colleges give less fundamental education than ever before. by Dr. ] ohn E. Candelet
Assistant Professor of Economics Last April, Fortune magazine published an article entitled "Should a Businessman Be Educated?" The article went on to explain the inroads that had been made into the educational field by specialization at the undergraduate level. As the result of some pretty pointed complaints by leading business men about the shocking degree of specialization that was occurring, followed by the complaint that "we're all obsessed with expertise," and the statement that business really wanted more men who have the broad interests and the mutual disciplines that liberal arts education gives, Fortun e made a survey of fifty .colleges and universities which showed that students were taking, and colleges were giving, less fundamental education than ever before. Business became alarmed. But Fortune carried its survey further and deeper and came up with the interesting answer that business itself was largely to blame for the situation and demonstrated that the personnel recruiters who represented business firms on the college campuses had, on the one hand, placed liberal arts education at a serious discount and, through their pressure had, on the other hand, succeeded in distorting the educational picture into a premium on specialization. And, as a result of the personnel recruiter's specifications for candidates the liberal arts education was branded as "impractical" while the specialist with either personality or leadership, or neither, was met with open business arms. The result of this influence of the demand for the specialist has, according to the Fortune survey produced a situation where out of 227,029 men who received bachelors degrees from some 1300 collegiate institutions in 1952. less than a third could be called products of a general education. And the prospects were even worse for 1953. Furthermore, between 1940 and 1950 the percentage of liberalarts-basic-science majors among all
college grad~,~ates dropped from 43 to 37, and by 1952 it was down to 35.7 percent (and this figure included all students who majored in the physical, biological, and basic social sciences as well as graduates in the humanities and mathematics) . Equally serious, shows the study, is the steady reduction in the amount of time that undergraduates are required to spend on fundamental education before taking up their vocational specialty. What seems to be developing is the prospect of an educational dust bowl with all of its frightening implications and possible h路agic consequences to a nation upon which has been thrust the mantle of world leadership in so many different areas and directions . Someone has said that it is time that education started talking back, both for the sake of business as well as for education itself. And our first retort would be that the problems of the hour are so pressing, so varied, and so complex, that they require the complete education of the whole man. The internal and external concerns of our society require for their solution the disciplines of the liberal arts and peculiar abilities of the liberally educated man. But one shudders to realize the truth of President Sidney Swensrud of Gulf Oil Corporation when he says, "It's the broad-gauged man who is scarce . . . . The men who come into management must understand the whole sweep of modern economic, political and social life." And the warning of Irving Olds when he says, "The most difficult problems American enterprise faces today are neither scientific nor technical, but lie chiefly in the realm of what is embraced in a liberal-arts education." It was then with considerable interest and apprehension that I followed the progress and the reports of a joint conference held at Corning, ew York under the auspices of the College English Association, to which were invited representatives of edu-
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cation and industry to help determine the role the liberal arts should play in American education, industry and in our whole society. Out of the grist of tllis conference came some interesting milling. There was the disturbing warning from one participant that the reawakened interest in the humanities, the new appreciation of the liberal arts, and the growing dissatisfaction with overspecialization was weak compared with its opposite force, and it was his feeling that the forces which have been working against the liberal arts would increase in the next decade. He called it the new illiteracy. There was also the warning that despite the executives cry that what they need and can't create is men with a decent general education, the doors of the employment office swing open more receptively to the specialist. Somehow the top-level expression is not being translated into effective action in the recruiting office. Out of this conference it seemed to me that there came some heartening signs, and after reading the reports of the various contributors I felt better. I came to realize that the liberal arts colleges and the top p eople met in a unity of thought and pmpose, a d understanding. And, of course, where there is unity of thought, purpose and understanding right action may well follow. But I was disturbed by the p ersistence of the Lorelei theme-song of specialization, of practicalness, of utility. And this, I am afraid will continue to be our adversary. It is illustrated by the statement that : "large companies can indulge in the luxury of lming A.B.'s without specialized h路aining because they can get their money back eventually. The smaller company must have a man who,can pull his weight on the first day. This is the emphasis on practicalness, on utility. Our response to this is that the best and most valuable things we can equip our men with, even for that first day, are a realiza-
tion of the worth of character, not a knowledge of fact but a sense of facts, an emotional maturity which depends upon knowledge of self and others, an intellectual maturity which gives him an ability to use knowledge, a sense of moral, human and spiritual values, the ability to observe effectively, to think effectively, and to be able to arrive at competent judgments. But we are told that the liberal arts program is impractical and the implication is, of course, that our method is unwise-that it is not utilitarian. We are told that business is in need of more character and moral stamina. Is it then impractical for us to attempt to show the means of developing character and a sense of discrimination among values? We are warned that the world of the specialist is a narrow world, but it is practical and utilitarian. Is it then impractical and unwise for us to teach our students subjects whether they be literature or philosophy, or language, or mathematics, or science, or social science, in which the reward is that his world enlarges, his interests expand. He sees meaning in relationships and activities that he did not see before. He sees all things with new vision. We are often told that business wants people who can use judgement and who have the ability to reason. Is it then impractical and unwise for us to teach them in whatever courses we can, be they physical or natural sciences or any or all of the social sciences how to reason and how to arrive at reasonable and competent judgements? We are told that one of the greatest problems of business is the difficult problem of handling human beings. Is it then impractical and unwise for us to teach about human beings in the life sciences, what makes them human beings, their strengths, their weaknesses, their essential goodness, the essential dignity of man, and his unimaginable possibilities? We are told that we must preserve democracy and that we must have free enterprise. Is it not practical and wise then for us to teach what democracy is and to teach what free enterprise means, and what are the circumstances that enhance or remove either of them? We are told of the desirability of preserving the capitalistic system. Is it not practical and wise to teach our students what the capitalistic system is and should be, and what are the conditions necessary for its survivaL and how it may be improved? And
may we not do this without a presumption that we are attacking it? We are told that business fears depression. Is it not practical then, to teach our students a healthy respect for the lessons of the historical and economic past and a reliable judgement of the present in order to avoid the thing we fear? We are told that inflation is bad. Is it not practical and wise, then, to teach our students about the inflations of the past, what caused them and what were the results, that our students might observe the pattern although the details be different? We are told that we must prepare adequate defenses. Is it not practical and wise to teach our students the necessity for them, but also the impact of this on the economy and the possible relationship between guns and butter? We are told that we must balance the budget. Is it not practical and wise to teach them first what a budget is and then to acquaint them with the conditions which make balancing possible or impossible? We are told that peace is essential. Is it not practical and wise to teach our students what are the conditions that are basic to peace? We are told that we must trade with other counh·ies, that we should do this rather than to continue to aid them . Then is it not practical and wise to teach our students about trade, and what "h·ade not aid" really means? Or is this to be just a nicesounding phrase? We are told that the world grows smaller. If other nations now occupy a position in our back yard or in our front yard is it not all the more practical and wise that we learn of the cultures of other nations, their tongues, their contributions to science, to government, and to learning? We are told of the evils and the fear of Communism. Is it not practical and wise for our students to know what Communism is, how it comes about, how it functions , how it distorts, how it reduces all things to conformity with the utilitarianism of a political party? Or, should we, in our indictment of the one leave our students with the impression that they should, having been freed of one of the horns of the dilemma, impale themselves upon another whose authoritarian influence is just as bad? We are told that the specialist and the technician lacks faith. And we are advised by our national leaders that faith is essential to our survival. For it has been said that our hope for the future lies not so much in political decisions themselves, but in 7
the spiritual strength of the individuals who work them out. Is it not then practical and the part of wisdom to teach our students by precept and example, and without disturbing their particular theologies, that religious faith in the inspiration, the guidance, the wisdom and the compassion of a Being greater than ourselves is essential? For, "did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing." Is it not practical and wise for us to teach that faith is not a purely intellectual exercise; it is a matter of a living-out of trust. For faith without works is dead. It is faith in the essential goodness and worthwhileness of man, in the ability and dignity of others, as well as a faith in the capabilities of one's self to accomplish and to serve. It is not alone a religion in the sense that word is usually taken, but a rule of thinking, doing, living, and being. It is not only ethical but practical. For every criticism and observation there is an answer. The philosophical attacks that are directed against the liberal arts colleges cannot beat or defeat them. For after every blow that seemingly pins the liberal arts institutions to the ground we find them rising again with renewed strength and vigor to respond to their challengers. In this they may be likened to the figure of Antaeus in classical mythology who, every time he was thrown to the ground gathered new strength to cope with his adversary. Heracles slew Antaeus, but he was able to do it only after discovering the source of his power and strength and holding him out of contact with it. The liberal arts colleges will be destroyed only when they are made utilitarian , only when they are not permitted freedom to deal with ideas and ideals\-· or when they are deprived of tne•financial and human resources that they need to live on. ThesP- are the essential elements that give them strength. The question is sometimes raised as to how the liberal arts college can be made utilitarian. The question is raised perhaps innocently enough. The answer is that it never can be made so without destroying it as a liberal arts college. For the moment a college program becomes utilitarian to any group, whatever the group may be, it becomes a servant of the group and it ceases to be liberal. Interestingly enough, that which can never be utilitarian and be liberal is by its very nature most useful to the individual and to society as a whole. This emphasizes the peculiar and special role of the liberal arts
college. It is concerned with the individual and with the individual as a member of society. It cannot be concerned with special groups. It must be concerned with those things which will more adequately endow the standard of life of the individual and of society rather than with the whims and fancies, the fads and the foibles and desires of particular groups. It is the particular and special functioning of the liberal arts college to deal with ideas and ideals, wherever the search may take us. Therefore it is its responsibility always to lead and never to be led, always to mould and never to be moulded. Should that unhappy day arrive when the liberal arts college loses this directional ability, it will then have lost its effectiveness as a free institution and will be a mere tool in the hands of those who seek to accomplish their own distorted ends. Such has been the fate of the old German universities under azi rule, and such has been the end of once free colleges that have fallen under authoritarian rule. There are many who suppose the term liberal arts to mean academic froth, a kind of academic flotsam and jetsam. This is precisely what it is not. In the first place the term refers to the freedom of the institution and the absence of utilitarianism in any direction. Secondly, it refers to the freedom of the individual to pursue, under minimum limits prescribed by the faculty, an extensive program involving English, language, mathematics, humanities, physical science and social science to be followed by an intensive program in a selected field . It is our nearest approach to the philosophy of "something about everything and everything about something." This is what we believe; and we believe it so that the educated man may, if need be, change direction without losing momentum. As someone has said, "The best product we can hope for-and a high product it is when achieved-is the man of general culture. This is what we have to offer at our best. If we can turn out such men, management will then have a responsible and responsive personality to work with. This is what we have to offer. And this we can achieve only when we seek the liberal arts for their own sake." This is the battle of our philosophy of education versus specialized training at the undergraduate level. Let us now look at the two remaining problems that face us in this battle.
One would expect that a college which had been in existence for well over a century would be firmly established and rooted against any storms that might assail it. Yet, by a curious quirk of fate the independent liberal arts colleges are finding themselves in an increasingly uncomfortable, if not precarious, position. The rising pressures of increased operating costs and the effect of inflationary influences have threatened to snuff out some of these institutional lamps of learning. Some have already gone; more will go. Some are now operating under heavy deficits; others have had to sell part of their endowment to keep going. We can see very easily what happens to the individual under the combination of rising costs and inflationary influences. The effect is much more marked with the college. It may be likened to the cold flame which consumes the college's purchasing power even before the college gets a chance to use it. When I was a student in college a running debate occurred as to whether the faculty or the students were the most important factors in the college. Well, the answer comes very quickly and let's make no mistake about it; it is the faculty and the students that are the most important assets the college can have. And, if I may press this point even more I would say that it is the quality of the faculty plus the quality of the student that will determine whether the end-product will be significant or insignificant, a credit or a discredit. For it is inescapably h路ue that a college can be respectable and celebrated only through the people it may employ and produce. If we will just recall that it is the privately endowed liberal arts college that constitutes the very backbone of education in the United States; if we will acknowledge, as we should, that these institutions have been the real setters of standards, and the setters of real standards, of education in our country, "the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken," then we will realize that for every independent liberal arts college that is snuffed out, or has its strength impaired, it constitutes a body blow to independent education in a free society, and in a society that we want to have remain free. Trinity College has a faculty of excellence and it has been able to retain this faculty because of the zeal of its members, their devotion to the cause of liberal education and the realization that a sympathetic ad-
8
ministration is showing an intelligent concern over faculty problems. One recognizes in this profession of collegiate education a rewarding grandeur and dignity in the experience of giving of one's self; one must realize also the basic necessity and dignity of receiving, and receiving adequately. Three forces immediately converge upon the college with a good faculty -the needs of government service, the appeals of industry, and the competition of tax-supported institutions. It is no intelligent answer for anyone to say: "Let the financially dissatisfied faculty members go elsewhere." For in that negative answer lies the waste of one of the most important assets of the college. It takes years to build a good faculty; it may be dispersed in a matter of months under financial ignorance and competition. One of the most distressing and exasperating problems of the day for the small college like Trinity is to be able to retain its faculty. And retain these members we must, and attract good ones we must if we are to continue to emphasize the peculiar values of a personalized education. And now I come to the problem of attracting and retaining our other human resource-our students. Anyone who has stopped to compare the personal cost of education today with ten years ago, to say nothing of any earlier period, is staggered by the increase. Much of this rise has been forced upon us because of increased college operating costs. Colleges have sought to offset this by increasing tuition. And again, this year, we find colleges pondering the question as to further advances. But there is a combined result and tragedy in this. It is that students are being priced out of the classroom. And when the New York Times made its recent s.u rvey and found that tuition increases were again becoming imperative, the question was asked whether this would not deprive worthy students of an opportunity for an education and the answer was "Unfortunately, yes." What a tragedy this is for a free society and for a society that wants to remain free! Small colleges such as Trinity have desperately tried to cope with this situation by appropriating more funds for scholarship assistance. Some colleges have recently increased their scholarship funds by 100 percent; others have devoted the whole of the alumni fund for this purpose. Worthy students need it and students are shopping around for it. This is the new competition amongst .colleges. Continued on next page
uflumni Portrait :
Edward Abbe Niles
'1 6
New York Lawyer is Off-hours Boswell of th e Blues In the Wall St. law office of Edward Abbe iles, ' 16, hangs a print of his grandfather, an Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and one of Trinity's most distinguished early alumni. (It was the Bishop, incidentally, who founded a lively College h路adition by making the first presentation of the Lemon Squeezer on his graduation in 1857.) The print reminds that this ew Yorker's roots are deep in ew England. His father , class of '87, was a leading ew Hampshire lawyer and chairman of the state's Public Service Commission. Such a solid Yankee background, rounded by his own education at Trinity and Harvard Law School, seems appropriate to a legal associate in Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft. Yet it makes no accounting for the fact that gracious, cultured Abbe Niles is also the leading historian of the blues, author of the first article on jazz in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and authority on popular American music. This extralegal interest, which
claims only his leisure moments, had its start at Trinity. He arrived on campus with a musical acquaintance limited to the classics, and soon found his repertoire "didn't go over too well." To increase the usefulness of his talented piano to the Mandolin and Glee Clubs, he began to accumulate a library of popular sheet music-a start on the extensive collection , dating from the first publication of sheet music in America in 1790, which now fills his Forest Hills home. As he began his law career in ew York in the early '20's (after duty as an Army pilot, study at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and graduation from Harvard Law) his musical and literary interests combined to produce reviews and articles on folk songs and popular music in the Nation, the ew Republic, the Independent, the Bookman and other magazines of the period. "The Blues; an Anthology," published in 1926, was a major result of his involvement in the music field.
Liberal Education (cont.)
ucational prominence. And they are problems with which every Trinity alumnus and every person interested in the maintenance of independent education in a free society must be concerned. They are problems involving investment-investment in physical and human resources. And, speaking of investment, where else can one find an investment that yields so much-the income of satisfaction in knowing that one's college has been strengthened; the assurance that one's investment, regardless of market conditions, will grow in worth and service, and the realization that it assists some other worthy person. Where else can one find an investment that is twice blessed-blessing him that gives and him that takes? If the independent liberal arts colleges are entering the greatest crisis of the last hundred years, then this means their greatest battle of the century. And believe me, the battle is already joined.
I know that Trinity College is badly in need of scholarship funds. These it must have if it is to attract and retain the worthy and desirable student, for Trinity College has always operated under the educational philosophy that talents and genius are confined to no one group in our society, but are as much the inheritance of the poor as of the rich. These are the three financial problems which bedevil the administration of a college such as this: l. Rising costs of operation. 2. The necessity to retain the faculty and to be in position to attract others. 3. The desirability of attracting and retaining the right kind of student. These are staggering problems. And yet, they must be solved if the college is to retain its position of ed-
9
The blues had intrigued him because "they seem ed to have more body to them," and because they were "something no one knew much about" even though the egro folk form had by then greatly inHuenced popular music. So, in 1925, he looked up W . C. Handy, famed Negro composer whose Memphis Blues and St. Louis Blues were already well on the way to becoming classics. The interview resulted in a collaboration, with Handy selecting and editing the music and he doing the introduction and critical commentary. It also resulted in a friendship which is still firm today between him and the 80-year-old Handy. The book proved to be the first informed discussion of the history, technique and influence of the blues, and it also factually documented Handy's position as the "Father of the Blues"- the first man to recognize the popular appeal of the form and to write it down. For the last 25 years he has largely devoted himself to his law work, except for an occasional special article such as the foreword to Handy's autobiography in 1941. (Another exception has been his interest in the works of the late E. R. Eddison , a neglected English master of highly symbolic prose romances. Until Eddison's death in 1945 the two carried on a lengthy correspondence. Niles was instrumental in arranging the American publication of Eddison's works, one of which is dedicated to him.) In 1949, however, he was prevailed upon to do a revision of "The Blues," by then long out of print. Republished as "A Treasury of the Blues," the revision brings the story of the blues to the mid-century point, including a consideration of the modern developments of jazz, swing, and be-bop, as well as an appreciation of the pioneers of these.:f"rms. In a field whose devotees are inclined to be cultish, the commentary of Abbe Niles is refreshingly nonpartisan: as he states in the book, "I write from the standpoint of one interested in all of American folk song and popular music: old, new, hot, cold; even sweet (if not too sweet) and bad (if bad enough)." Between his office and his work on committees of the New York bar, music is now strictly a relaxation, along with tennis (formerly nationally-ranked, he still plays regularly, is active in the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association). He manages, however, to keep his collector's ear tuned on popular music, which he finds "mostly vile-but then it always was." If it gets very bad, of course, "that makes it good, for me."
:Faculty Profile Versatile Geologist Edward L. Troxell, College's first Dean, to retire in June after 34 years on the Faculty. In February, 1920, a young member of the Yale faculty arrived in Hartford to take a part-time job at Trinity. For Edward Leffingwell Troxell, that was the start of a long association in which he has made lasting contributions to the College, to the science of geology, and to the state of Connecticut. Now, 34 years later, Professor Troxell is planning his retirement. He will be 70 next month , and in June he will join the ranks of Trinity's honored emeriti. In this, his final year, no faculty member can claim longer service. Looking back on the circumstances of his arrival at the College, he may feel an amusement with the way actions, seemingly unpromising and undertaken quite matter-of-factly at the time, have a way of deciding a lifetime. He remembers his first question on being offered the job: "Where's Trinity?" And, considering the offer, he must have thought of it as a satisfactory arrangement for remuneratively filling the spare homs between his duties as research associate in paleontology at Yale University. He was to be assistant professor of geology at Trinity, commuting thl·ee days a week h-om ew Haven to give the few comses then offered in the subject. He made the b·ain trip regularly for the following five years until the part-time job became a career. In 1925 Dr. Troxell received a full professorship, and the appointment as first Dean in Trinity history. With his wife, he moved to Hartford permanently. As Dean , he was in charge of all discipline-in itself a task of epic proportions dming those days of Prohibition. He was also in charge of admissions, and he continued to teach half-time. "In those days, with less than 200 students, one could do all of those things," he explains. On the 30th anniversary of his coming to Trinity, Professor Troxell once remarked to an interviewer that "I can't think of anything more inter-
esting than what I'm doing here." Some of the stimulation he finds in his work undoubtedly springs from the fact that Trinity is itself a vast geological laboratory. Most alW'llni are probably familiar with his pamphlet on the geology of the campus, in which he brought alive for the layman the wonderfully varied story of the ground on which the College stands. After 1928, when he left the Deanship, he was able to devote all his energies to his field. Through the years he played a major part in the adminisb·ation and development of the College Museum of atural History in Boardman Hall. Under his cmatorship it became a more useful teaching museum: he was responsible for adapting its contents to more practical quarters in a third of its former space during renovation of the building six years ago. Meanwhile, Professor Troxell continued to serve the College in its administrative functions. Dming his tenme he has been a member of almost every faculty committee. All his years devoted to Trinity, however, are only half the story of an unusually full life. Some of the many sides to the man and his personality are suggested in his appearance: in his face, lean, immobile behind clipped moustache and pince-nez glasses, there is an austere dignity-but behind the glasses perched so imperiously on the nose there is in the eyes a glint that hints of humor and a nimble mind. His figme, tall, spare and seemingly taller h-om his erect bearing, reveals in its carriage a military training. In his walk tl1ere is the alert lighmess of excellent physical condition. His is a figme which has been a familiar part of Trinity to students for over three decades. Yet perhaps Dr. Troxell is best known not among the campus community, but in the international community of his professional colleagues. In the field of geology, and more particularly in the field of vertebrate paleontology, his conh·ibutions throughout his career have been of major importance. His professional reputation is such that 10
he commands among his titles the past presidency of the Association of American State Geologists and former editorship of its J omnal. Among more than 100 papers and articles he has published, the large majority have been devoted to the scholarly advancement of his science. Professor Troxell's biggest discoveries supplied crucial links in the' evolutionary history of the horse. In field trips throughout the western states, he has discovered a number of fossil examples of various stages in the development of the animal. Most important was his finding of one of the few complete skeletons of the Eohippus, earliest known ancestor of the horse. A whippet-size creature with fourtoed front feet and th!·ee-toed hind feet, the Eohippus stood 12 inches at the shoulder and roamed this continent some 50 million years ago. Its fossil remains are very rare. Its skeleton, which Dr. Troxell found in Wyoming in 1931, is now reconsb·ucted in a display at the museum of the California Institute of Technology. A plaster cast of the slab of earth h-om which he recovered the bones-a process which took several weeks-can be seen in Boardman Hall. Many other discoveries have resulted h-om his field b·ips, which he began in 1910, two years after his graduation h-om Northwestern University. frr following summers, on private trips and on expeditions for Yale and for the University of South Dakota, he found rare specimens of fossil birds, mastodons, and other prehistoric vertebrates. These are now on display in New York's Museum of Natmal History, the ationa! Museum in Washington, and other leading museums of this country and Canada. Among his professional contributions has been his direction for the past 14 years of the State Geological and atmal History Smvey. In iliis capacity he has been "Mr. Geology" for Connecticut, representing tl1e state in geological matters and guiding the scientific and educational activities of the Survey during the period of its greatest growth.
Outside his own fi eld, Dr. Troxell's constant search for new outlets for his energies has produced a wide variety of interests and talents. His is a ranging mind, always busy planning new projects-from flood control to better hospital wheelchairs to practical jokes. The will with which he tackles a project is illustrated by the way he took up golf. H e first played the game at the age of 56-"when I got too old for tennis"-and took it up so avidly that word soon spread among the faculty hackers that h e was out of their league : in 1951 he b ecame a duly accredited member of the Hole-in-One Club, and last year he broke into the 70's. It was in the spring of 1936, after torrential March floodwaters swept across Hartford and vicinity, that he applied himself to the problem of flood control. He produced a solution calling for creation of a canal hom Gildersleeve southeastward four miles until it rejoined the Connecticut River just below the narrows south of Middletown. It was the narrows which had bottled up the river in flood time, creating a great lake around Hartford. His plan, worked out in great detail in a written study and a scale model of the area which he made himself, was to utilize the original course of the river before the great Glacial Period for the canal, which was to serve as an auxiliary in time of flood and greatly relieve tl1e pressure on the narrows. The political temper of the time prevailed, in the form of a plan of the Army Engineers to build flood reservoirs and power dams at the headwaters in Vermont and ew Hampshire. Though this plan has since been partially carried out, Professor Troxell still feels that "some day they will come around to my plan, which doesn't work against the forces of nature." In the first World War he served overseas for a year as a captain of the infantry with the 82nd and 86th Divisions. With the coming of World War II, Dr. Troxell did his share in the local defense effort. Too old for active service, he became a Red Cross first aid instructor, and in ilie early war years taught classes of local citizens in churches, stores and insurance offices. This led to later work as a volunteer medical aid at Hartford Hospital. In addition to these contributions to the life of the community, his activities have made him something of a public figure. To give expert testi-
mon y on geological conditions and land evaluation, he is called on to make frequent court appearances. His advice is also sought b y private industry. And when any earthquake or major tremor occurs, local newspapers and the wire services always call for his comments: the only seismograph in Connecticut is located in Boardman H all, its business end in a basement room an d its recorder in his office. Completely apart from geology, Professor Troxell has become widely known socially, where his sense of humor and talents as a raconteur are best appreciated. Among the 33 lines which Who's Who in America devotes to him are listed , in addition to numerous professional clubs, memb ership in Hartford's Twen tietl1 Century Club, the H artford Golf Club ilie Masons, Yale's Book and Bond: Alpha Delta Phi, Sigma Xi and Pi Gamma Mu. H e is Chancellor of the ew England Province of the latter fraternity, the honorary organization of the social sciences. His skillful hands h ave produced sketches which have served to illustrate many of his published scholarly writings, and he has also illustrated his own text for a yetunpublished book on geology for children. This talent once enabled him to take a brief and successful fling at sculpture after overhearing another professor express a wish for a bust of Napoleon. As a joke, Professor Troxell set to work, and surprised him by producing a p assable clay likeness. His most successful, and only oilier, work was a creditable
Dr. Troxell with Eohippus
11
study of former President G. Keith Funston , done from life- and , of coul'Se, from native Hartford clay. Another occasional hobby has been his peb路aphone, a rather unpromising collection of rocks which produces surprisingly musical tones when played as an xylophone. Collected from slivers of rock on Talcott Mountain, chipped to proper tone, ilie petraphone provides a weighty conversation piece on which he likes to play snatches of ilie Largo hom Dvorak's ew World Symphon y and, of course, "Rock of Ages." During the l25th Armiversary celebration of the College it was on display, with a student rendering "Neath the Elms" on it. The ebraska-born professor is an ardent follower of sports. He played fullback on his .class team at orthwestern , then witl1out intercollegiate competition. After his graduation in 1908, while teaching high school in Kansas, he coached football, basketball and baseball in between studying for the M.A. he received from orthwestern in 1911. H e still attends as many of the major aililetic events at Trinity as he is able. After earning his Ph.D. from Yale in 1914, Dr. Troxell did further research at Michigan, where he met his wife, the former Tane Allen Campbell, daughter of the head of the Chemisb路y D eparbnent. They were married in the fall of 1917, two months after he had received his commission from officer candidate school. The following summer he was sent overseas. While in France he had ilie opportunity of doing further study in paleontology at the Sorbonne, and on his return he took the research p ost at Yale. Although Mrs. Troxell has no special interest in her husband's field she shares 1 .great many interests: among them travel, bridge and p eople. The first of th ese the couple pursued in cross-country sabbatical and summer b路ips which have taken them through every state in the union. In the 1920's when they occupied the dean's house, Mrs. Troxell's untiring efforts to entertain the students led one acquaintance of that time to remember recently "it was as if we h ad two deans ra't her ilian one." In 1933 they moved off campus with the purchase of their home, a comfortable frame house at 49 Auburn Rd ., West Hartford. In retiremen t, Dr. Troxell expects to continue his research and writings in geology, to do some more travelling, to play a lot of golf-and generally continue life at just abou t as full a pace as he has always lived.
Foundation Gift Starts Jo-Year Work Recataloguing \V atkinson HARRY
For the first time since its founding in 1857, the recorded knowledge of the Watkinson Library is being thoroughly classified. A $7,500 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving enabled a start on the recataloguing project, which will vastly increase the usefulness of the distinguished research library added to Trinity's collections 19 months ago. The Watkinson has long needed this facelifting: in the 95 years it grew in downtown Hartford, much of its contents became inaccessible due to lack of adequate cataloguing and shelving. The project will cost in the neighborhood of $80,000 and will take 10 years to complete. The job has been delegated to the skilled hands of a professional cataloguer, Grom M. Hayes of ew Brunswick, .J. Mr. Hayes admits that his is a rather unusual occupation, although one which is not lightly achieved, consisting in his case of a B.A. ( 1932) from Rutgers, an M.A. in English ( 1934) from Princeton, a teaching certificate in secondary education at Upsala, attendance at Columbia University's School of Library Service, and including work in public, medical and university libraries, in order named at New Brunswick, the New Jersey Academy of Medicine, and Rutgers. Somewhere in all this education he has presumably attained the philosophic detachment needed to sustain him for the next 10 years, which he figures to spend among the time-musted stacks of the Watkinson. His task is complicated by the special nature of the Watkinson's 130,000 volumes. Many of the older books will tend to defy analysis. Title pages may be missing or, as in the case of many 16th Century books, nonexistent, publisher and date of publication may be represented by elaborate ciphers which must be decoded. Before he is able to tell what many of the volumes are about, Mr. Hayes will have ample opportunity to utilize his skills in Latin, Greek, French, German and Italian. The same pseudonym for different authors will be a frequent headache -as, for example, in controversial 17th Century religious pamphlets, many signed simply "Seeker of Truth," or "Right Thinker." Standardized subject headings must replace a bewildering profusion of en-
tries dating from the early years of the Watkinson, before library work became a science. Further, because the catalogues of the Trinity Library and the Watkinson are to be correlated, all subject entries and classification numbers will have to be checked with the College's present listings before being assigned. By the time each book is properly identified and cross-referenced, it will require about a dozen separate file cards. These will be multilithed in duplicate, with one set going to the Trinity catalogue for interfiling. An additional copy of the author card will be sent to the Union Catalogue at the Library of Congress. End of the cataloguing project will mark completion of the Watkinson's rehabilitation, which began with its b路ansfer to spacious fireproof quarters in the new library at Trinity.
Alumni Bookshelf
!QJ
ZIMMERN, Sir Alfred, Hon. '47, The American Road To World Peace, Dutton, 1953. This historical review of man's faltering steps toward permanent peace leads to the suggestions of one of the world's most distinguished scholars of international relations for a peaceful universe. The former Visiting Professor, who has recently presented the Trinity Library with 400 volumes in the Classics, speaks of America as the citadel of freedom, and has sought to explain to Europe this country's role in world freedom. Sir Alfred's study of history from Rome and Greece to the United ations convinces him that the American road to world peace can be reached by means of a constitutional document, the United ations Charter. He prescribes that "What is essential is that the free peoples should stay together and move forward together, subordinating their individual interests and even their individual grievances, when this is necessary to the common welfare. Only so will mankind reach the state of inner tranquillity which is the essence of b路ue peace." As a constructive examination of the historical development and framework of the world organization, Sir Alfred's book provides a new basis for confidence in the conduct of world affairs. rls 12
with T. CosTELLO
Brownell Professor of Philosophy
Beard, Charles A. and Mary R., Rise of American Civilization ( 1927). American history related with verve and pungency. The Growth of the American Republic (Rev. ed., 1937), 2 vols., by Samuel E. Morrison and H. S. Commager, is a good straight narrative. If you want the controversies of American history, the Chicago University 2 volumes, 路 The People Shall Judge ( 1949) , will give them to you. Goodrich, Luther C., Short History of the Chinese People ( 1943) , a good sketch, about equal to the Lattimores' Making of Modern China ( 1947). Livingstone, R. W. (ed.) , Legacy of G1路eece ( 1922), a collection of well-written essays by specialists, perhaps the best of a series of "Legacy" books published by Oxford Press. Nehru, Jawaharlal, Discovery of India (1946). This with his autobiography, Toward Freedom (1941), and his N ehm on Gandhi ( 1948), are introductions to the Indian point of view by a remarkable man. Parkman , Francis, Pioneers of France in the New World (1865). The first of an enthralling series of frontier histories. No fiction can exceed the romance of these true stories. Parringffig_, Vernon L. , Main Currents in American Thought 3 vols. A history of the United States from the side of literature, going back to 1620, an able work. Randall, John Herman, Jr. , Making of the Modern Mind (Rev. ed. , 1940). Stands almost alone as a survey of the origins of modern Western culture, built on James Harvey Robinson. Toynbee, Arnold, A Study of History (Abridged in 1 vol. from vols. 1 to 6, by D. C. Somervell, 1947). A history of many civilizations, using the formula of "challenge and response." Part of the charm of the immense original is its leisurely excursions into regions of the world whose history is unknown to the ordinary reader.
((Christian Colleges for a Yfree rJimerica" Hobart, Trinity, Kenyon, Sewanee JOin forces for observance of National Christian College Day within Episcopal Church. Se wa nee Chapel
When four small colleges produce II have failed. Except for the institua fifth of the leadership of a major tions of the American Church Instifaith, they assume an tute for Negroes, only four colleges importance to that today represent the Episcopal Church Church far out of pro- actively in the distinguished tradition portion to their size. of Christian colleges: Hobart, TrinThat's the case for ity, Kenyon and Sewanee. Their reHobart, Trinity, Ken- lationship varies from actual owneryon and Sewanee who ship and operation of Sewanee by 22 number among their Southern dioceses to the completely 8,000 Episcopal alumni 14 per cent informal common purpose of Trinity of the Clergy and 25 per cent of and the Church. They are united in the Bishops of the Episcopal Church. the belief that spiritual as well as With several hundred other Chris- intellectual and physical developtian colleges cooperating through the ment is an essential part of higher ational Council of Churches, these education, and in their association colleges will ask the nation'• attention with the liberal orthodoxy of the to the importance of "Christian col- Episcopal Church in achieving this leges for a free America" on Sunday, end. By charter, Trinity's churchmenApril 25th, designated as National founders provided that the College Christian College Day. Observance within the Episcopal should be for men of all faiths. The Church of this day will be the most College educated America's first elaborate project ever attempted in Roman Catholic Archbishop, an outcooperative efforts of Hobart, Trinity, standing Jewish Cantor, a SuperinKenyon, and Sewanee, dating back tendent of the Congregational Church in Connecticut. Only two to the 1930's. The first joint folder on the four years ago, the national Jewish B'nai colleges is being mailed this month B'rith Society presented the Episcopal to every Episcopal parish in the Priest who serves as Trinity's ChapUnited States, asking remembrance lain with its Hillel Gold Key for disof the four colleges on ational tinguished interfaith work. But Christian College Day and continu- Trinity's conb·ibution to the Episcoing support of Christian liberal edu- pal Church has far outshadowed its many services to other denominacation. Presidents and alumni representa- tions. One church historian estimated tives of the four colleges will participate in a service at the Cathedral of that in 1850, Trinity supplied one St. John the Divine, New York City tenth of all the Episcopal clergy in highlighting Episcopal observance of America and a third of the Connectthe day. President Jacobs of Trinity icut clergy. Today, Trinity alumni will deliver the address at the 11: 00 number 214 Episcopal clergy and a.m. service, to be followed by a 9 Bishops-Gesner, Gibson, Gooden, coffee hour for alumni and friends Littell, McElwain, Roberts, Sawyer, of the colleges. Also expected are articles in almost 100 national and diocesan church publications, pastoral letters from several Bishops, and distribution of college materials and prayer for the Colleges in hundreds of parishes. Of 23 colleges founded by the Episcopal Church, less than a quarter today exist and maintain the commitment to the principles of Christian liberal education of their founders. Three established since World War Old Kenyon 13
Scaife, and Stark. In addition, Bishop Ogilby is son of a Trinity president and a former graduate student. Trinity is about twice the size of the other colleges in student body, plant, and endowment, and helped shape the ew England educational b·adition which Hobart, Kenyon and Sewanee follow more closely than do other colleges in their regions. Hobart, founded in 1822, is located in the city of Geneva at the head of beautiful Seneca Lake in the Finger Lake Region of ew York State. Its program of general studies, developed since Wmld War II, has won wide recognition. William Smith College for Women is coordinately organized with Hobart. Kenyon, founded in 1824, embodies the tradition of the country college in its own town of Gambier, Ohio. The Kenyon Review, noted literary magazine, the Old Kenyon dormitory fire, and its selection by Life magazine to illustrate the finest tradition in liberal education have brought Kenyon to public notice in recent years. The University of the South, commonly known as Sewanee, founded in 1857, is located on a mountain top domain of 10,000 acres in southern Tennessee. The traditions of the Old South and of English education are still sb·ong there. For its size, its scholars, who wear academic robes to class, lead all colleges of the South in the quality of graduate work done by its alumni, according to a 1953 Ford Foundation Survey. Divinity schools are associated with both Kenyon and Sewanee. The four colleges are small. Their combined graduates last year are estimated at less than one in 770 of the product of American colleges and universities. But their importance in the academic world far overshadows their size because of the high standard of scholarship for which they have become well known in the fast growing world of higher education. In this way, the Episcopal Church has maintained an unparalleled leadership in higher education, through influence by example.
Trinity K eeps P ace with a Grow ing Science by Andrew H. Souerwine Instructor in Psychology "Once Upon A Time" (as some stories begin) some of you will remember having become interested in a relatively new field of study at Trinitypsychology. By the late 1920's, psychologists had begun to develop certain fundamental generalizations concerning human behavior. The interplay of various methods and principles in the field had ah·eady established definite "schools" of psychological thought. the scientific advancements made by While men such as Watson, Kohler, psychology in the understanding of Lewin and Freud were using such human behavior. While there are terms as "Behaviorism," "Inh·ospec- many who would challenge such a tion," "Molecular Study," "Super- statement, it is unmistakably h·ue Ego," the man on the sh·eet was that the principles which psychology wondering if there wasn't an easier has developed or which it is seeking way of saying it. The Trinity student are closely aligned with all of the who was interested in these new other sciences and with the social developments had but two half- sciences. Psychology thus enjoys a courses from which to learn more unique focal point in liberal educaabout psychology-Inh·oductory Psy- tion , for it is in psychology comses chology and Advanced General Psy- that the student learns something of the principles underlying his bechology. With this meager start, it is inter- havior and that of others around him. esting to note the development of The major objective, then, in the psychology at Trinity. Indeed, it em- psychology curriculum is to give to phasizes the desire of the College the student a better understanding to offer to its students comses which of human behavior. It is clifficult to keep pace with the advancements in ascertain whether or not students of the academic world. For example, psychology actually attain such an the class of '27 could elect only two objective. Understanding of hucomses in psychology, but by 1932 man behavior may take the form of students could elect comses in in- prediction, control, or forgiveness of troductory, experimental, and gen- behavior of the people amund us; eral individual psychology, along and since such signs are sometimes with supplementary courses in an- long in coming, the student is not thropology and principles of aesthe- always immediately aware of any tics. Five years later, we note the gain received. This is h·ue of much addition of courses in individual of a liberal education. Only after the mental deviations, fields of psycho!- student has viewed his valley of eduogy, the learning process, and soci- cation from the hills above does he ology, and by the academic year begin to see the real worth of the 1941-42, the college had added a degree he received. Our barometer course in social psychology,-a field must be our students, so if the opinwhich was rapidly growing and at- ions and actions of the students themh·acting the interest of many psycho!- selves are any criterion , then we in ogists. Today, with psychology psychology must say that our objecestablished as a science, with psy- tive is being achieved . chologists employed in many differPsychology is an elective at Trinent capacities, and with the contribu- ity. Students in the B.S. group may tions psychology has made toward elect it and/ or philosophy to satisfy better adjustment, the College offers one of the requirements for graduto its students eleven different un- ation. Since it is a course of instrucdergraduate comses or half-comses tion which very few high schools and in psychology and grants either a preparatory schools offer, students B.A. or a B.S. degree to those ma- come to the introductory psycholjoring in the field. In addition, it ogy course with impressions of psyhas developed a sound graduate chology (often erroneous) obtained program leading to an M.A. in psy- through reading articles in popuchology. Jar magazines. This, coupled with the fact that every one of us conThe Undergraduate Program siders himself to have a practical Bertrand Russell, one of the great knowledge of human natme, dephilosophers of our time, stated, in mands that the first comse in psya recent article in the New Y 01·k chology be a survey, one which rids Times, that the future of the nation the student of wrong impressions and indeed, of the world-depends on informs him of the general principles
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and areas of psychology. A one-semester comse, it covers learning, motivation, perception, intelligence, personality, and social issues on an elementary smvey level. It is not difficult to understand that some students are disappointed with certain portions of the comse: they come into it expecting to learn ''how to win friends and influence people" and leave it without a list of specific "rules" in that direction. After this initial systematic look into the field, however, most students elect a second semester of psychology. Following the inh·oductory course, there are a variety of courses which will supplement the student's major. For the pre-medical student there is either the psychology of personality or the psychology of abnormal people; for the economics major and the pre-legal student, applied psychology in business and industry and social psychology; for the student of education, developmental and educational psychology; for the pre-divinity student, social psychology and the psychology of personality; for the student of the classics, anthropology and social psychology. While each of these comses never loses sight of om major objective, it concentrates only on one special area of psychology and studies this area from both the theoretical and the practical points of view. For example, in social psychology, the student learns of the development of his beliefs and attitudes and of his role in society, of the structure of groups and the complexities of group behavior, of specific social processes such as leadership, public opinion, rumor, prejudice, and propaganda. In addition to satisfying the needs of those students who wish merely to obtain a general idea of what psychology is, the psychology staff has the further responsibility of providing an adequate background for its majors who either desire a liberal education with emphasis on psychology, are planning to enter a profession v.:here a background in psychology may be desirable, such as medicine, law, business, education, or theology, or are planning to continue the study of psychology in graduate schools. Because a knowledge of scientific methodology is the core of present day psychology, majors are required to take a full year of experimental psychology. This course aims, in two laboratory periods and one lecture hour per week, to give the student
an understanding of the methods psychology uses in obtaining its facts and developing its theories. Near the end of the course students have the practical advantage of designing and running their own individual experiments. Students act as subjects in some of the experiments ; in others, however, white rats are used. While the chemist can always count on his test tubes to be in the laboratory when he wants them, the student in experimental psychology cannot expect to have human subjects present at his every call. Doing independent research not only creates a lot of enthusiasm in the student, but also gives him the opportunity to see his data published in a professional joumal or to present his data to a group of professional psychologists. Last year, for example, students in the course worked on research in the areas of learning, effects of alcohol, school achievement as related to interests and ability, and various personality problems. One of these papers was presented at a spring meeting of one of the local psychological associations and another one of the papers is now being prepared for possible publication in a psychological journal. Every psychology major, in his senior year, must take the seminar course in advanced general psychology. This is primarily a course in theory, but the latter half of the second semester is devoted to problems of interest to the class as a whole. One year, for example, the senior majors became interested in various social problems-international tensions, prejudice, social status, national character, and the college environment. In each of these areas the students did thorough library research and then discussed the problems at considerable length in class. Last year, the class as a whole wrote a book on special topics in theoretical psychology. Such a course, therefore, serves the dual purpose of integrating information from earlier courses and of forming the culmination of the major. Along with his background in psychology, the major is expected to have knowledge, at least on the introductory level, in closely allied fields. H ence, the major usually takes courses in physics, biology, physiology or genetics, economics, political science, and philosophy. The Graduate Program During the past several years the college has done much to enhance the graduate offerings in psychology. It became apparent that many teach-
ers, men in business and industry, and other professional people in the Hartford area are seeking advanced training which will increase their professional competency. To give this training in a liberal arts setting demanded the cooperation of many departments. Psychology, consequen tly, now offers M.A. programs in three different areas: general psychology, personnel psychology, and counselor training. These programs are meant to be terminal for the student. The staff sh·on~ly disfavors a "packaged curriculum '; therefore, each graduate psychology major develops, under supervision, a plan of study which will most adequately satisfy his individual objectives. The regular Trinity staff is supplemented by psychologists of the Hru·tford area who are highly qualified by education and experience for teaching at the graduate level. Facilities Psychology is housed on the east side of the second floor of Boardman Hall. Here, in five rooms of varied sizes, is the center of work and study for psychology students. Contrary to what might be supposed by some, we have no soft couches on which students may relax while they tell us their troubles! Several years ago we added to our facilities a rat laboratory, largely through the ingenuity and hard work of Mr. Earl Bailey, the technician at Boardman Hall who has been at Trinity since 1900. With an eye toward economy and convenience, we outfitted one of the rooms with an exhaust fan and two long shelves of wire cages which will accommodate well over seventy rats at a time. These cages have feeding and watering devices which require giving the rats a minimum of attention. Having housing for the rats is only the beginning of needed equipment; mazes of all sorts also had to be constructed. Again, with our eye on the budget, Mr. Bailey constructed a series of U-mazes which can be fitted together in various ways to make many different maze patterns. Along with this, a rather elaborate elech·onic shocking apparatus was built with the cooperation of Mr. Robert Kingsbury of the Physics Department. The final result is a rat laboratory which compares quite favorably with those of colleges of similar size. For a small department, we need not be ashamed of the equipment we now have. Operating on a modest budget, we cannot, of course, purchase any of the expensive electronic apparatus which is now found
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in the well-equipped psychological laboratories. Our appru·atus is especially obsolete in certain areas of experimental psychology; special efforts a.re being made to purchase equipment to fill these gaps. The Future In a small, personal college like Trinity, psychology has an importru1t part in the lives of the students. The future can bring some additions which will be of lasting value to students and the College. To teach students the principles of any science, laboratories ru·e essential. So that a greater number of students may take advantage of laboratory work in psychology, the Depru"tment needs small experimental cubicles in our present large laboratory room. Such cubicles will also provide rooms for expanded educational and vocational guidance to supplement the testing and placement services now available to students. Just as Trinity has kept pace with the development of psychology over the past twenty-five years, so will it keep pace with psychology in the future.
W
Alumni Bookshe!f
BATTISTI I, Lawrence H., M.A. '41, Introducing Asia, John Day. In 261 readable pages, this Trinity author sketches Asian history from ancient to modern times, pru"ticulru·ly bringing out the background of current problems. He has lived in Tokyo since 1946 fil"St as chief of the economic affairs division of the War Department headquarters, the civil historical section of SCAP, and since 1951 as lecturer on modern history at Sophia University. Far Eastern history is a blank in the education of most Americans. Battistini's book is short enougn o be tackled by many who would like to fill in this blank and at the same time seems to give a reasonably complete historical survey, emphasizing China, Japan, and India and the main cwTents of Asiatic cultural development. The author's second Asiatic book, "Japan and America" is scheduled for publication this month. rmb Wedgewood Plates Ten
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On Campus Continued from page 4
ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR Samuel F. Morse provided a world premiere for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra's Young People's Concert in January. Mr. Morse combined his literary talents and his love of music to produce an original narration for Benjamin Britten's Variations and Fugues on a Theme by Henry Purcell, a work more widely known as "Young People's Guide to the Orchestra." Listeners agreed he succeeded in the difficult task of producing a narration which was bright and witty, yet not detracting from the music itself. Sample: "To get things started in the proper way, The orchestra begins as one big team Playing a handsome tune we call a theme. The Englishrnan who wrote it long ago Was Henry Purcell; and his notes still glow Like summer sunlight. And the man who set His tune is English, too. You won't forget His name is Britten, like another name For England, though it isn't spelled the same." 0
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WITH APPEARA CES this weekend for a Junior Prom audience and next week over WKNB-TV, the Glee Club prepares to swing into its Southern tour come spring vacation. The trip will include concert stops at New
York, Washington, and Sweet Briar College. The major concert of the season will be held jointly with the Vassar Glee Club on Palm Sunday with a program of Lenten music in the Bushnell Memorial. 0
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AS EXPECTED, insurance is by far the largest field for Trinity men in the Hartford area, a recent survey of local alumni professions has determined. Two hundred and twenty-one, or about one sixth of the graduates living in or near Hartford, are in insurance. Education is the second largest field, with 131 men. In the city and surrounding towns, 123 doctors and 115 lawyers are Trinity men-a figure for each profession which is just about 12 percent of the entire membership in their county associations. Ninety alumni are engaged locally in manufacturing, 57 in government work, and 30 in the field of publishing and printing. Of the fields more difficult to break down into individual occupations, business (including sales) accounts for an additional263, engineering and the sciences 67, and the arts and miscellaneous, 33. Some 200 other Trinity men in the Hartford area who are retired or who are presently in the service were not included in the survey. 0
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"PROBLEMS A D PROSPECTS in the Far East" were the focus of an all-day seminar held here March 6 under the sponsorship of the Trinity Foreign Policy Association. D elegates
Shiras Morris, '96, A Memorial A newly-established scholarship fund will honor the memory of Shii·as Morris, Class of 1896, one of Hartford's leading businessmen and a loyal alumnus of Trinity until his death in 1927. Prominent for many years in Hartford manufacturing, business and politics, Mr. Morris was president and b·easurer of the Hart and Hegeman Manufacturing Company. He was a director of a number of business firms and banks. He also served the city as a member of the water board, and for a number of years was a Republican ward committeeman. At Trinity Mr. Morris was a member of Psi Upsilon . He often said in later years that his success was due in large measure to the practical business experience of managing several athletic teams during his undergraduate career. In 1917 he was named a Trustee of the College, and was active on the Board until his death . The Shiras Morris Scholarship Fund has been established by his widow, Mrs. Grace Root Morris, with a gift of more than $15,000. The gift will provide annual scholarships for sons of clergymen and teachers.
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The Rt. Rev. Hem·y Knox Shenill, H '36, presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, left, accepts from President Jacobs, a photo copy of Trinity's portrait of America's first Bishop, Samuel Seabury, for display in the Seabury House Conference Center at Greenwich, Conn. The noted Seabury portrait, believed to be one of only two likenesses of the first Diocesan, hangs in the old library reading room at Trinity, on permanent trust from the Diocese of Connecticut.
from a number of area colleges and universities were expected to participate in the discussion sessions, led by visiting experts in Korean, Chii1ese and Indian affairs.
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